CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES—PRECURSOR DRUGS

In reply to the Hon. R.D. LAWSON (6 December 2006).

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health): I have been advised that:

South Australia has been leading the Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs (IGCD) Scheduling Working Party on Controlled Substances in the development of recommended draft model schedules of controlled drugs, plants and precursors. This approach has been taken to ensure national consistency in the area of serious drug offences.

The IGCD Scheduling Working Party on Controlled Substances has developed the draft model Schedules of controlled drugs, plants and precursors for consultation.

I wish to advise that those parts of the Controlled Substances (Serious Offences) Amendment Act 2005 that could be proclaimed without supporting Regulation changes were proclaimed on 12 January 2006 and those parts that could not be proclaimed, must come into operation on or before 5 December 2007.

The national model schedules includes some Schedule 4 drugs for which there is an illicit market and schedule 1 of the national model schedules had to be amended to exclude these drugs as further amendments to the Act will be required to bring in higher penalties relating to the illicit use of these drugs. Some nomenclature and quantities required amendment to be consistent with the legislation.

There are also amendments required to the Controlled Substances (Poisons) Regulations 1996 that are primarily administrative in nature due to changes in terminology and changes to some section numbers of the Act.

Draft regulations are currently being finalised and it is expected that the remaining parts of the Controlled Substances (Serious Offences) Act 2005 not already proclaimed, will be proclaimed in November 2007.

Supplementary Question—

It should be noted that it has always been the Government's intention to proclaim the new sections of the Act in a consistent and orderly way. Section 33 of the Act currently deals with the therapeutic use of drugs of dependence, as well as their illegal use.

When the amendments are proclaimed, these two uses will be addressed in separate sections with the therapeutic use of drugs of dependence to be addressed in the new section 18A. Section 18A retains the existing controls over the therapeutic use of drugs of dependence and does not introduce any additional controls. It does, however, clarify and correct some anomalies present in the wording of the current section 33 which are being addressed.